ELKHART -- Keeping a college campus stationary can do great things for student enrollment.
Indiana University South Bend officials reported this week that 883 students are taking classes at IU Elkhart this semester. The figure is a new record for the three-year old campus, which enrolled 823 students last fall and 618 students when the campus' doors opened in 2007.
The number of credit hours taken by students is also on the rise. This fall students are taking 4,484 credit hours, up from 4,395 in fall 2009 and 2,959 in fall 2007.
IUSB has had classrooms in Elkhart for the last 30 years, but the university leased various spaces and consequently most people never knew where the local campus was.
"People had to seek us out and we were hard to find," said Ken Baierl, head of communications and marketing for IUSB. "And we didn't think that was the way we wanted to offer classes in Elkhart."
Several years ago Jack Cittadine was one of the people having problems finding the perpetually rotating campus location.
An Elkhart-based attorney, Cittadine and his wife had been taking a computer class at IU Elkhart's campus, which at the time was located behind a pizza place on Mishawaka Road. Previous attempts had been made to find a permanent spot for the Elkhart campus, he said, but state funding proved evasive.
Cittadine met with IUSB officials, who were still anxious to establish roots if funding for the projects could be attained. In 2006 A group of residents co-chaired by businessmen Art Decio and Bob Deputy was formed, and within six months $4.2 million was raised for the new facility.
"We knew it would be an improvement over what they had, but I think it's done even better than we anticipated," said Cittadine, who served as project manager for the new building.
In addition to a fixed location, Baierl said word-of-mouth and an increase in the number of classes offered are responsible for the spikes in attendance and credit hours. He also cited the weak economy as a likely catalyst for some students to seek higher education.
Cittadine and Baierl said the goal was for the campus to serve Elkhart County students and businesses.
"We wanted to help the economic vitality of Elkhart, particularly downtown Elkhart, and felt that having a college presence downtown would do that," Baierl said.
Cittadine admitted that the recession has potentially stifled students' opportunities to immediately put what they've learned at the Elkhart center to use for local businesses. But he added that IU has been working with area employers to find out the kind of skills they want from employees, ultimately ensuring they're better equipped.
The Elkhart center has also served as a springboard for additional growth downtown, Cittadine said. He pointed to restaurants like McCarthy's, Mad Anthony's and 523 as well as to the renovated Lerner Theater as results of the center's "ripple effect."
Officials hope to capitalize on the growing enrollment. Cittadine said he'd like to see a partnership forged between the Elkhart center and area high schools that would give students the chance to take college-level courses. He would also like to see the campus and the number of courses it offers grow.
That's a sentiment shared by Craig Fulmer, one of many people that contributed $100,000 to make the Elkhart center a reality. Fulmer said the center is an asset to the community and that enrollment has exceeded his expectations. Like Cittadine, he said he'd like to see more four-year degrees offered locally.
Currently the Elkhart center offers the first two years of general education courses towards most of the undergraduate degrees offered at IUSB. Students can also earn a bachelor's degree in general studies and take courses leading to a master's in business administration.
Baierl said university officials hear the message and are working to find new ways to accommodate students and add programs that Elkhart's work force needs.
"The future is bright here," he said.